Skookum’s Jul 2020 newsletter is ready! Info and pictures on garlic and Hugelkultur, updates on Skookum projects, seed saving, and more.
If you’re visiting us from the PR Garden and More Facebook group, welcome! We encourage you to check us out and maybe join the coop – it’s only $20 for a lifetime membership.
Here’s your June Skookum newsletter! Member survey results, garden photos, recipes, poetry and more…
Skookum’s newsletter for May is out, with recipes, info on what you can do to encourage a local food community, and a look at the Gleaners program. Let us know how you like it!
Hey Skookies, your Board are working away in the background here but we need to know more about what you want! So we’ve put together a survey for you to tell us. Just 1 page, 10 questions, won’t take long, but will help us a lot. Here’s the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V32R7ZC
Because we want to take action on this information, we’d like to get the results sooner rather than later. Deadline for completing the survey in time for us to use your answers is midnight on Sunday, May 10th.
Skookum’s newsletter for April is out, with recipes, poems, photos, and a detailed look at planning your garden for seed saving. Let us know how you like it!
Welcome! If you’re new to Skookum, here are a few useful links:
Hello Skookies!
At its first meeting, your new Board set as a priority for this year, “member engagement” – creating opportunities for us to get together, learn together, and play with food together. Of course, the current COVID-19 virus situation has thoroughly put the kibosh on doing that in person, so we are working on ways for us all to engage with each other while still keeping our distance physically.
One of those ways is what you see here – the first issue of a regular newsletter. This issue introduces you to the members of this year’s Board, and we hope to have a similar section in every issue featuring Skookum members – a kind of “Humans of Skookum” if you will (not sure what that refers to? Check out “Humans of New York” at https://www.humansofnewyork.com/ ). We’ll be putting out a call soon for members to tell us about themselves.
If you would like to contribute something to the newsletter, whether that’s an article, pictures, how-to’s or anything else Skookum-related, please contact Brooke at brooke dot oxley at gmail dot com
Stand by for more ways to connect with other Skookies around food, while maintaining “social distancing”, coming to your email soon!
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? Because building our food community is critical to thriving in the future.
What can you offer to members of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop? Food production and preservation education, seeds and plants (some years), organizing events and other stuff.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? All kinds of how-to information… current obsession is knitting machines!
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? The “gift economy”… we don’t have to re-create it, it’s already here.
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? Globalization illustrates a serious need for Canada to move towards local organic food-many folks are food insecure and right now the Coronavirus illustrates this weakness.
What can you offer to members of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop? My expertise/knowledge around how pesticides/agrochemicals harm the food system, our planet, beneficial species and our health. Many Canadians are chronically ill and science points a big finger at our food system. I have done many presentations/writings around this-to media, Universities and gardening groups. .I have a background in microbiology and find the connections between gut and soil health interesting.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? Farming/gardening/agroecology/permaculture/cooking……….FOOD! Reading about “systems”……how we can change.
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? Good weather for growing and lovely places to hike and paddle.
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? I have a beautiful young family and we moved to Powell River for a slower lifestyle, being self sufficient is an important part of that. Skookum is a wealth of information, supportive people and accessible education opportunities. I wanted to contribute to the community. I’m excited to be a small part of keeping food knowledge accessible locally.
What can you offer to members of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop? I have a vested interest in indigenous food sovereignty, I hope to be a voice for the influx of young families that have moved here without knowledge about growing food who are looking to integrate gardening/self sufficiency into their lives.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? Growing and creating herbal medicine, homeschooling, home baked goods.
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? How accessible nature and community are here.
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? it has an important mission.
What can you offer to members of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop? i’ll help where I can.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? just about anything
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? walking on the beach
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? People coming together to mentor and skill share is a great thing. Food security is important for everyone and every community. Skookum Coop is a group of like minded people participating in our food security and sovereignty which I’m glad exists in our community!
What can you offer to members of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop? I love hearing and sharing stories! I can manage projects and support mentorship models.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? I love learning about how people learn and how they grow. I’m a student of meeting people where they are at. All things related to nature and any building of capacities.
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? The swims, gardens and views. qathet and Tla’amin territory is just so beautiful.
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? Skookum’s purpose and mission aligns with my own beliefs and I’m excited about meeting and working with others who believe in these things too.
What can you offer to members of Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop? Listening to what is important to you all and figuring out how to make that happen.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? Birds, plants, people’s creative processes, people’s stories about their lives.
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? The sea lion chorus that accompanies my gardening!
Why is the Skookum Food Provisioners’ Coop important to you? Because we all need to pay more attention to food security, and as a coop it helps to build community.
What are some things you enjoy learning about? Food preservation
What is your favourite thing about living in Powell River/qathet Regional District? Our home, the way we have it set up to help us be self reliant.
Well, if you made it through this far, thank you!! Here are some of our favourite food and community related websites:
How to Share – Food! (and build community)
West Coast Seeds Garden Wisdom Blog
Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Youtube Channel
March 21, 5:30pm
Sycamore Commons (Townsite Anglican Church, basement)
6310 Sycamore Street
It’s (almost) springtime and we know that you are all busy as bees…
We hope you can buzz by, hive a bite to eat and join your colony of local-foodies to share a potluck meal, and some buzzing social time!
Queen Bee (and fellow Skookum member) Donna Moseanko will be doing a talk about bees and how gardeners can support them (we promise she won’t drone on).
Some information about native bees – like the mason bee – will bee available, as well as some fun and sensory bee-related activities for (but not limited to) kids!
We’ll have some membership forms for your friends/neighbours who want to meet others and build and maintain a healthy regional food system here in Powell River and qathet district.
Bring something delicious to share, hive some local ingredients and if you can, consider honey as an ingredient. And if you are swarmed and unable to bring a potluck item to share, come anyway!
Everyone is welcome, your bee-utiful presence is enough.
Here’s what happened at our most recent AGM on Feb 6, 2020.
26 people attended, including several guests and new members.
We did all the usual minutes of last AGM, treasurers report and directors report stuff.
Discussion was had regarding the separation of responsibilities between membership and the board. As mentioned in the directors’ report, the fact that the board is responsible for the administrative running of the organization was highlighted, leaving responsibility for projects to member teams. Discussion of the necessity for members to step up and take care of projects if the organization is to keep running smoothly. Current and former board members shared their experiences of the relatively light work load for board members as long as there is a full slate of seven board members and as long as members not on the board take care of running projects. General agreement among all attending that this is the most sustainable model for the organization.
The call for nominations for board members was made by Erin Innes. Existing board members remaining on the board are:
The following people were nominated as new board members for either one or two years as indicated below. All were accepted by acclamation:
There was a discussion of the need to repair or replace the cider press and find a new place to keep it that is more centrally located than its current home with Alex McNaughton. Thanks and appreciation were expressed to Alex for hosting the press for the last two seasons and for updating the membership on its condition. The following members volunteered to assist Alex McNaughton with repair or replacement of the press and finding a new location/hosting member for it for the upcoming season:
It’s gleaning time! If you have extra food that needs harvesting (anything except blackberries), please fill out the form here.
If you want to join the pickers list, please fill out this form. (Pickers are no longer required to be Skookum members, though of course we do encourage you to join the coop!)